The irony of Glynn County being selected by the
White House as the location of June 2004 G8 Summit to "...showcase
the complementary benefits of environmental stewardship and a strong economy"

The selection of Glynn County
as the location for the G-8 Summit will be an excellent opportunity for the
world to see the difference in how environmental issues have been handled in
this Country. Glynn County is home to the richest of the rich, and the poorest
of the poor. While the wealthy retire on the islands, regulatory malfeasance has
left those in Brunswick with 4 federal Superfund Sites in addition to 18 state
toxic sites. It is the circumventing of environmental laws, that continue to
this day, that has allowed it to happen.

Unhealthful levels of toxic air releases - including chemicals that are central
nervous system toxicants - continue next to two elementary schools with average
first grade IQs of 87 and 89 because the Georgia Environmental Protection
Division (EPD) continues to use creative loopholes to allow
unregulated toxic
air releases.

The pesticide Toxaphene was manufactured in our community by Hercules Inc. and
millions of pounds were released into neighborhoods, school yards, and our
estuary; contaminating our seafood. Rather than cleanup and protect the poor
and minority neighborhoods where this happened, the EPA, Georgia EPD, and
Hercules changed the analytical method
to hide this
poison in our community. Over the years, large amounts of the pesticide
have been released in the air, surface water, ground water and soil throughout
Brunswick. Instead of cleaning up this contamination, the polluters and
government regulators sought to redefine what contamination was.

We are currently engaged in a battle to have the Arco neighborhood next to the
LCP Chemicals Superfund Site tested. Even though the
EPA promised to test the
neighborhood and determine if there were health risks, it has been the EPA that
has fought the hardest to keep this information from our community. Meanwhile,
banks are redlining the area, which has stifled redevelopment efforts.

The EPA has already
given Brunswick an “Environmental Justice Community” designation due to the
shameful history of dumping toxic wastes in and on our community. It appears
that Brunswick will continue bearing the brunt of corporate and government
injustices. While the leaders of the world’s richest countries will congregate
in the pristine environment of St. Simons and Sea Island, some of Glynn County’s
citizens are living on a contaminated mainland. Indeed, the Governor is so
ashamed of this area, that his statement refers to the summit location as “the
Savannah area,”—a city more than 80 miles away—without any mention of the City
of Brunswick. Perhaps the President and the Governor—both of whom will most
likely be flown, along with all the other attendees, directly to the Island—are
worried about what the rest of the world might think if they realized the
conditions existing just across the causeway.

The Glynn Environmental Coalition has extensive documentation about these and
other injustices that are being perpetrated upon those that live in Brunswick.
We invite you to contact us so the story behind the G-8 Summit location can be
told.